Russian President Vladimir Putin is staying in St. Petersburg, where he will participate in the events of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) during the next two days, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
It was earlier reported that first the president will meet with the heads of world news agencies. Representatives for 10 leading agencies from nine countries - the UK, Germany, Iran, Spain, Italy, China, the U.S., France and Japan - will take part in it. According to a tradition, the meeting will have no fixed agenda and will be carried out in the Q&A format.
Today, Putin also has a number of bilateral meetings with heads of foreign delegations - Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The Russian leader will also continue communication with Chinese President Xi Jinping in St. Petersburg, with whom he had negotiations in Moscow. All these foreign leaders, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, will participate with the Russian president in the SPIEF’s key event a well - the forum’s plenary session on June 7.
Another traditional SPIEF event will be held today: Putin’s working dinner with members of the International Expert Council of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and representatives for the global investment community, TASS recalls.
Investment foundations from about 20 countries, including from Germany, France, Japan, China, South Korea, India, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, will be represented at this meeting. A total of more than 40 foreign investors who operate more than $15.2 trillion in total will be present, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier.
Apart from a speech at the plenary session, Putin’s program at the SPIEF on June 7, contains a number of meetings, in particular with heads of major foreign companies.
